902 E Iowa Ave

Indianola, IA 50125

$252,000D

3 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,753 sqft · Built 2022 · SingleFamily · Active · 65 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,800/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,322
• Tax + insurance: −$398
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$378
• Net cashflow: $-297/mo
• Annual: $-3,566/yr
• Cap rate: 4.88%
• Cash-on-cash: -5.05%
• DSCR: 0.78
• 1% rule: 0.71%
• Cash to close: $70,560

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $252k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-297 ($-4k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $200k (20.8% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $180k (28.6% below list).
• It's been on market 65 days — a 6% lower offer ($237k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $180k (28.6% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $2k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $8k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 87/100 on livability (#10 in IA, #332 nationally) — a professional / high-income tenant draw. Strengths: schools A+, amenities A+, cost of living A+; Watch: commute F.
• Indianola Community School District (town): math 74% / reading 72% proficiency, ranked #83 of 289 in IA (top 29%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical.
• Market conditions: 241 active listings in the ZIP; 1 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 439 units permitted in Warren County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Warren County population projected at +22% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 2 sale attempts since 4y ago with the ask held roughly flat each time — persistent listings suggest the price (not the market) is what's stuck; bring a comps-based counter.
• Cap rate 4.9% vs local median 2.3% in Indianola — top-decile yield for the area; either an underpriced asset or a hidden risk that comps aren't pricing in. Stress-test before assuming the spread holds.

Questions for listing agent

• What do current leases actually rent for vs. the listed asking? Can we see a recent rent roll and the last 12 months of T-12 income?
• It's been on market 65 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 29% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Why hasn't it sold? Are there any deal-killer items the seller is aware of (foundation, flood, title, zoning, code violations)?
• Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
• Schools are A-rated — typically a magnet for longer-tenancy family renters. What's the average tenant stay here, and is there a school-zone premium baked into asking?
• The area grade is low — what's the realistic commute time and amenity access for the typical tenant pool here? Any planned neighborhood developments (good or bad) we should know about?
• What's the average days-on-market for RENTAL listings here right now (not sales)? A rising rental-DOM trend means longer vacancies and softer asking-rent achievability than the comps imply.
• What's the recent tenant-quality profile in this submarket — average credit score on applications, eviction rate, late-payment / NSF rate, and stable-employment percentage? A property-management company in the area should have these aggregated.